Fireplace with movable reflector



y 3, 195l REBAINES 2,559,271

FIREPLACE WITH MOVABLE REFLECTOR Filed Feb. 18, 1947 X 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Fig.1. 4

Inventor I ttomel y 1951 R. BAINES 2,559,271

FIREPLACE WITH MOVABLE REFLECTOR Filed Feb. 18, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IJuly 3, 1951 R. BAINES 2,559,271

FIREPLACE WITH MOVABLE REFLECTOR Filed Feb. 18, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 5Attorney July 3, 1951 Filed Feb. 18, 1947 FIREPLACE WITH MOVABLEREFLECTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Attorn Inuentor Patented July 3, 1951FIREPLACE WITH MOVABLE REFLECTOR Richard'Baines, Preston, EnglandApplication February 18, 1947, Serial No. 729,373 In Great BritainFebruary 22, 1946 12 Claims.

1 The present invention relates to domestic heating installations suchas fireplaces and stoves embodying a grate for solid fuel. The inventioncan be applied to such heating installations whether or not they includedomestic boilers and/or cooking ovens.

The term domestic heating installations is used herein to mean heatinginstallations for houses, hotels, public waiting rooms and the likewhere open fireplaces or closed stoves are customarily used with orwithout a boiler and/or an oven or cooking range.

One object of the invention is to provide a domestic heatinginstallation such as a fireplace or stove which will not only berelatively efficient as a heater but which will at the same time providethe cheer which is afforded by an open firegrate.

A further object of the invention is to achieve a relatively high degreeof radiant heat emission from an open fire.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a domestic heatinginstallation which can burn coke in an open firegrate.

According to the prevent invention a domestic heating installation suchas a fireplace or stove embodying a grate or combustion chamber forsolid fuel is provided with a radiant heat reflector extending upwardlyand forwardly from above the back of the grate so as to reflect radiantheat outwardly from above the fire and its provided with a main flue andan auxiliary flue rising from the grate from levels one below the otherso as respectively to induce a draught through the fire and to drawproducts of combustion from th surface of the fire.

According to another aspect of the invention a domestic heatinginstallation such as a fireplace or stove embodies a grate andcombustion 1 chamber for solid fuel which is closed at the front and isprovided with a main flue extending upwardly from a level below thenormal level of the fuel in the grate to cause a down draught throughthe fire, and with an auxiliary flue extending upwardly fromapproximately the normal level of or from a little above the normallevel of the fuel in the grate, adapted to carry away products ofcombustion from the surface of the fire, a radiant heat reflector beingarranged above the grate extending upwardly and forwardly from the backof the grate from a level at or above aid auxiliary flue so as toreflect radiant heat outwardly from above the fire.

As a rule it'will be preferable for said flues to rise from the back ofthe grate although in certain cases it may be convenient for one or bothof the flues to rise from one side of the grate or alternatively fromboth sides.

An important feature of the present invention consists in a domesticheating installation such as a fireplace or stove embodying a combustionchamber and grate adapted to contain a mass of solid fuel in which aradiant heat reflector is positioned adjacent said fuel mass so as toreflect heat outwardly therefrom, and in which a flue rising from saidcombustion chamber or grate is adapted to induce a draught over the faceof the reflector and through the fuel mass and is spaced from saidreflector by a layer of said fuel mass. A further feature of theinvention consists in a damper controlled auxiliary flue adapted toinfluence the draught induced through the combustion chamber by saidflue.

The reflector is preferably upwardly and forwardly curved in verticalcross section and may be flat or curved form in horizontal cross sectionand it is preferably provided with side cheeks which are parallel orconverge slightly in the forward direction and the forward edges ofwhich are adapted approximately to coincide with the margin of thefireplace opening.

The reflector may be pivoted at its upper end to the fireplace or stoveso that it can be swung forwardly to induce an up-draught when the ashpit doorand another door above the opening in front of the stove areopened, and thus act as an incinerator, and preferably the reflector isalso readily detachable from the fireplace or stove so that it can becompletely removed.

In a preferred form of construction the space above the reflector isnormally isolated from the chimney by means of a door which can beopened or removed to enable the grate to be used as a conventionalup-draught grate when the reflector is removed or to be used as anincinerator when the reflector is swung into its forward position to actas a blower.

- The upper ends of the flues are preferably controlled by dampers whichare adjustable by a common control which causes one damper to open asthe other closes, the damper control being adapted to prevent the damperof the auxiliary flue from being fully closed so as to maintain at alltimes a certain degree of draught through the auxiliary flue for removalof products of combustion' from the surface of the fire.

The said flues preferably open into a smoke box in which said dampersare arranged and which has a chimney opening.

It will be appreciated that the arrangement 'over the reflector.

3 of the flues in relation to the grate and reflector will induce adraught of air downwardly over the face of the reflector to keep itrelatively cool and to prevent it from becoming unduly dirty, so thatwith moderate cleaning the reflector will remain eflicient as a radiantheat reflector for long periods of time.

The invention can be used advantageously in conjunction with a hot waterboiler or :with a cooking range, or both. In the case of a cooking rangeone or more side flues may extend from the fireplace or stove to leadthe products of combustion to the cooking range. Such flue or flues maybe alternative to, but are preferably additional to, said main andauxiliary flues already referred to.

An ordinary hot water boiler of rectangular section may be arrangedbehind the fireplace and the said main flue may pass beneath the boiler.Preferably, however, a relatively deep boiler is provided behind thefireplace or stove and said main flue and preferably also said auxiliaryflue pass through the boiler. Such boiler may be of fabricated steelconstruction and may be used in conjunction with a calorifler.

In connection with the present invention it may be advisable to employ agrate of which some or all of the fire bars are water tubes connectedwith the boiler.

The grate or stove of the present invention may, if desired, be providedwith a door, the front of which may be of glass or mica fitted into asuitable hinged frame. Suitable apertures should be provided at theupper end of the door for admission of air which passes downwardly Inthe case of a stove the door may be mounted upon a displaceable supportwhich is slidable in guides along the side of the stove, which guidesare adapted to receive also the door itself when open. Thus, such a doormay be first opened and then slid backwardly with its support into theguides formed in the side of the stove.

A valuable application of the invention is to a stove which can be usedfor heating two adjacent rooms or spaces, the main room being heated bythe fire direct and the other room by the back of the stove which mayproject into the same through a partition wall. Such a stove maybe ofrectangular form in plan and eleva- 'tionand may embody a back boiler ofheight equal to the height of a stove less the depth of the smoke box.The rear face of the boiler may be formed of corrugated metal so as toafford'a good dissemination of heat therefrom.

The invention is more particularly described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred form ofconstruction as applied to a stove or fireplace unit,

and in which:

Figure l is a front view,

Figure 2 is a side View taken from the left hand side of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken through the centre of Figure1 and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view taken between the lines IV-IVof Figure 3 to illustrate the position and shape of the reflector andflues.

defines a fireplace compartment 5 in the lower part of which a grate orcombustion chamber 6 is disposed, and a closed watertight rearcompartment or water boiler 1.

ihe grate or combustion chamber 6 is closed at the front by a portion 8of the casing front and is provided with a lining 3 formed of flreclayor other ceramic material which extends around the front, sides and rearof the grate.

The grate has a set of rocking fire bars 10 which are operated by anexternal lever H through a cross shaft 12 and rocker bar l3.

' A radiant heat reflector I4 having side cheeks 15 which convergeslightlyin the forward direction extends upwardly and forwardly from aposition slightly above the normal fuel level at the back of the gratetowards the front upper margin of the fireplace compartment 5. Theforward edges of the side cheeks i5 are flanged outwardly as at 25.

The reflector is provided at the upper end of each side cheek thereofwith a short pivot pin 25 (indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3) eachof which rests in a U-shaped lug or notch (not shown) in the verticalmargins of the opening I6 in the face ll of the casing I. Thus thereflector can be swung from its normal position shown in cross sectionin Figure 3 to the position indicated in broken lines in Figure 3 whereit can act as a blower to induce an updraught.

A main flue it rises upwardly through the boiler from the back of thegrate from a level well below the normal level of the fuel in the grate,whilst an auxiliary flue l9 similarly rises upwardly from a levelslightly above the normal level of the fuel in the grate. Each of theseflues is of upwardly increasing cross sectional area and passes throughthe cross plate 2 to open into the smoke box 3 from which products ofcombustion can pass through an opening 2!! to the chimney.

It will be appreciated that since the front of the grate is closed, themain flue 18 will induce a down draught through the fire as indicated bythe arrows 2| and 22 whilst the auxiliary flue I9 will withdraw anyproducts of combustion from the surface of the fire which mightotherwise tend to rise and foul the reflector. This flue arrangementwill moreover induce a draught of air downwardly over the reflector I4whereby to keep it cool and clean.

Combustion can be controlled by means of a main damper 2i and auxiliarydamper 28 governing the main and auxiliary flues respectively. Thesedampers are provided with pivot lugs '29 and 353 having pivot pins whichrest in open U-shaped bearings 3!, 32 mounted on the cross plate 2,whereby the dampers can be readily lifted from their bearings andwithdrawn. Each damper is provided with a tail-piece 33 which engagerespectively with a cam 34 and 35 mounted on a cam shaft 36 journalledat the back and front of the smoke box 3 and controlled from the frontof the smoke box by a hand wheel or knob Bl. The cams 34 and 35 are soshaped and so disposed on the cam shaft 36 that the damper 27 in causedto open when the damper 28 is caused to close and vice versa. Thus ifthe damper 21 is caused to close by either a large or small amount, thedamper 28 is caused to open corre-. spondingly. However the cam 35 is'soshaped that the auxiliary damper 28 is never. allowed completely toclose and its maximum degree of closure is as shown in Figure 3. Thusthere will always be at least a small degree of draught through theauxiliary fluei9 to ensure that any productsnof combustion on thesurface of the 1 fire are takenaway and :not allowed to soil the:

radially outwardly from the cam shaft 36. The 1 forward end of the shaft35 abuts" against a strong spring 43' in the sleeve ilwhich springallows for temperature expansion of the shaft and prevents it from beinglocked between the back of the boiler and the knob 31.

The cross wall 2 is provided with a door 44 hinged at 55 and secured inits closed position by a dog 46,- When' the door id is in its openposi'- tion, shown in broken lines in Figure 3, and when the reflector lA!- is in its forward :position, as shown in broken-lines in Figure3,'products of combustion can pass directly upwardly from the fire to Lthe smoke box and chimney, and in this condition the installation can beused as an incinerator. With the door 44 open and the reflector l4completely removed, the grate can be used as an ordinaryupdraught grateas for example when the fire is being lit.

An ash pit door A? is pivoted as at 49 and can be held in any suitableadjusted open position by means of a cambt which is operated by a camlever 55!. The ash pit door 41 has a knob or handle 52 at the left handend thereof as viewed in Figure l to enable the ash pit door to bewidelyopened and to permit withdrawal of anash bin 54.

A water feed connection 55, a return connec tion 56, a hot wateroutlet-connection Elan air vent 58 and a gas connection 59' for lightingthe fire are indicated diagrammatically in Figure 2.

The smoke box is l provided with an access opening 56 closed by a cover6|.

I declare that what I claim is:

1. In a domesticheatinginstallation of the open-fronted type, such-as afireplace or a stove,

means forming a combustion chamber for solidi'uel, a radiant heatreflector arranged above the combustion chamber and behind the openingin the front of the installation and extending upwardly and forwardlyfrom a position adjacent the rear top portion of said chamber to theupper margin of said opening, and a main flue and an auxiliary flueleading from the combustion chamber at levels one below the other, theentrance to the main flue being located substantially below the level ofthe upper surface of said solid fuel under normal grate load conditionsso as to induce down draft through a substantial portion of said solidfuel and the entrance to said auxiliary flue being located near theupper surface of said solid fuel under normal grate load conditions soas to draw off products of combustion from the upper surface of saidsolid fuel.

2. In a domestic heating installation such as a fireplace or stove, ofthe type in which the front has an opening therein, means forming acombustion chamber below said opening for receiving solid fuel, saidopening being approximately the same width as the width of thecombustion chamber and of height approximately equal to said width, aradiant heat reflector arranged above the combustion chamber and behindthe opening in said front and extending up wardly and forwardly from aposition adjacent the rear top portion of said chamber to the uppermargin of the-opening in the front 'anda main flue; and an auxiliaryfiueleading from the combustion chamber at levelsone below the other, theentrance to the main flue being located substantiallyu'below the'levelof theupper surface of "said solid fuel-under normal grate loadcondition's so as to induce down draft through a substantial portion ofsaid solid fuel and the en-' ,trance: to'saidauxiliary flue beinglocated near the upper surface of said solid fuel under normal grateloadconditions so as'to draw off products of combustion from'the'uppersurface of said solid fuel.

3. Ina domestic heating installation suchas a fireplace or a stove,-agrate for solid fuel,'a radiant heat reflector extending upwardly andforwardly from the back of the grate so as tov reflect radiant heatoutwardly from abovethe fire, -sa-id reflector being adjustablysupported'on said heating installation soas to vary the angle ofinclination of the-reflecting surface thereof and having side checks inthe form of flanges at 4. Ina domestic heating installation of theopen-fronted type, such as a fireplace or stove, means forming'acombustion chamber for solid fuel,-a radiant heat reflectorarrangedabove the combustion chamber and behind the opening in thefront-of the installation and extending-upwardly andforwardly from aposition adjacent therear top portion of said chamber to the uppermargin of said-opening, said reflector having extensions reaching to theside margins of the opening in the front whereby substantially to form'aguard against the flowof air-or gas around the edges of the reflectorother than around the lower edges thereof, and-a mainflue and anauxiliary flue leading from the combustion chamber at levels one belowthe other, the

entrance to-the main flue being located substantially below the level ofthe upper surface of said solid fuel under normal grate load conditionsso as to induce down draft through a substantial portion of said solidfuel and the entrance to said auxiliary flue being located near theupper surface of said solid fuel under normal grate load conditions soas to draw off products of combustion from the upper surface of saidsolid fuel.

5. A domestic heating installation according to claim 1 in which saidmain and auxiliary flues increase in cross-sectional area upwards.

6. In a domestic heating installation such as a fireplace or stove, agrate for solid fuel, a radiant heat reflector pivotally supported inselective positions, in one position said reflector extending upwardlyand forwardly from above the back of the grate, said pivot meansenabling the reflector to be readily detached or to be swung forwardlyto a position where it can act as an updraft inducer or blower byclosing an opening in the front of said fire place or stove, a main flueand an auxiliary flue rising from the back of the grate from levels onebelow the other, closure means on said heating installation to admit,when open, an updraft through the grate, a partition above saidreflector adapted to isolate the space above the reflector from achimney, said partition havin an opening therein,

able to enable said'grate to' be operated as a.

conventional updraft grate with the door open, the said closure meansopen and with the reflcctor removed or swung forwardly.

7. A domestic heating installation comprising an open-fronted box-likemetal'casing, a cross partition extending across the casing from back tofront to define a shallow smoke box in the upper part thereof said crosspartition having an opening in the forward part thereof, an upstandingpartition of metal extending from side to side of the casing and up tosaid cross partition to form a deep and watertight" water heatercompartment in the rear part of the casing beneath the smoke box and adeep fireplace compartment in front of the water heater compartment, agrate for solid fuel in the lower part of said fireplace, a main flueextendin from below the normal fuel level in the grate and risingupwardly through the water heater to said smoke box, an auxiliary flueextending from the region of the normal fuel level in the grate andrising through the water heater and opening into said smoke box, areflector in the fireplace compartment rising upwardly and forwardlyfrom the back of the grate towards the upper front part of saidfireplace compartment, separable pivot means suporting said reflector onsaid metal casing at an opening in the front of said metal casinglocated above said grate so that the reflector may be readily detachedor may be swung into a forward position where it acts as a draft induceror blower by closing said opening, and a door normally closing saidopening in said cross partition but adapted to be opened to enable thegrate to be operated as a conventional updraft grate when the reflectoris removed or as an incinerator when the reflector is swung into itsforward position.

8. A domestic heating installation according to claim 7 in which saiddoor closing the opening in said cross partition is hinged to the crosspartition so as to open downwardly and rearwardly about an axis adjacentsaid upstanding partition.

9. A domestic heating installation according to claim 7 and includingmain and auxiliary dampers pivotally mounted in said smoke box tocontrol said main and auxiliary fiues, a cam shaft in said smoke boxoperable from the exterior thereof, and cams on said cam shaft adaptedto control the opening and closing of said dampers.

10. A domestic heating installation according to claim 1, each of saidmain and auxiliary fiues being provided with dampers and a commoncontrolfor said dampers operable to close one damper as the other damperis opened and embodyin means to prevent the damper of the auxiliary fluefrom being fully closed.

11. A domestic heating installation according to claim 7 including camoperated dampers, one

for each of said flues, said dampers located in said smoke box, cams foroperating said dampers, a cam shaft in said moke box for supporting saidcams, and control means operable from the exterior of the casing torotate said cam shaft.

12. A domestic heating installation according to claim 1, each of saidmain and auxiliary fiues bein provided with a damper, and a commoncontrol for said dampers embodyin means to prevent the damper of theauxiliary flue from becoming fully closed.

RICHARD BAINES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,717 Brown May 10, 1887485,079 Backus Oct. 25, 1892 556,807 Connell Mar. 24, 1896 871,584Graham Nov. 19, 1907."-

1,211,657 Atterberry Jan. 9, 1917 1,688,430 Owens Oct. 23, 19281,706,846 Fisher Mar. 26, 1929 1,717,657 Box June 18, 1929 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 215,972 Great Britain May 22, 1924 379,418Great Britain Sept. 1, 1932

